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Iran Hiker Families Just Want One Phone Call

Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 | Updated 3:45 PM PST

Freethehikers.org

Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal and Sarah Shourd have been held in Iran since July 31.

The families of three University of California at Berkeley graduates who have been detained in Iran for more than three months submitted a 2,500-signature petition to Iran's mission to the United Nations Thursday calling for the trio's release.

Mohammad Mohammadi, press secretary for Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York, said he doesn't have information on the current status of Bauer, Shourd and Fattal.

However, he said "it's not fair" to call them hikers.

He said the area where they were detained is a "sensitive bordering place" known for the trafficking of wine and cigarettes and isn't known as a place for recreational hiking.

Whatever their title, Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, have been held since July 31, when they crossed an unmarked border into Iran while visiting Iraqi Kurdistan.

They haven't had any contact with their families, according to a Web site set up by their supporters. But on Sept. 29 they received a visit from the Swiss ambassador to Iran, who reported that they were well.

Bauer and Shourd have freelanced for New America media in San Francisco. Fattak is from Pennsylvania.

The petition asks Iran to release Bauer, Shourd and Fattal "as soon as possible and allow them to return home to their families."

"As an immediate step, we appeal to you to allow Shane, Sarah and Josh to speak with their families, in order to ease the worry of their loved ones," the petition reads.

The petition states that Bauer, Shourd and Fattal were on vacation when they went hiking near the Ahmed Awa waterfall in Iraqi Kurdistan "and had no intention of entering Iran."

"They all have great respect for different cultures and societies and for the law. If they did enter Iran, it can only have been by accident," the petition reads.